Alps Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Universal Corporation $UVV

Alps Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) by 60.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,112 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,166 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Universal were worth $621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UVV. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in Universal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,351,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Universal during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $683,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 138,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,742,000 after purchasing an additional 31,897 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Universal by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 17,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 5,474 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Universal by 1,218.7% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 123,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,199,000 after buying an additional 114,229 shares in the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on UVV. Zacks Research cut shares of Universal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Weiss Ratings cut Universal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Universal has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Universal Stock Performance

NYSE:UVV opened at $52.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.66. Universal Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.96 and a twelve month high of $67.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $54.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.92 by ($0.57). Universal had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The business had revenue of $861.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $927.20 million.

Universal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Universal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.76%.

About Universal

Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is a global agribusiness company primarily engaged in the procurement, processing and sale of leaf tobacco. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company sources cured leaf tobacco from key growing regions in North and South America, Africa and Asia. Universal serves major multinational tobacco manufacturers by providing a full range of services including inventory management, quality control and logistics support to ensure a consistent and reliable supply of tobacco leaf.

In addition to its core leaf tobacco operations, Universal offers integrated supply-chain services that encompass warehousing, distribution and ingredient sourcing for smokeless and novel tobacco products.